Eagles Settle Lawsuit With Real-Life ‘Hotel California’

Last year, the Eagles filed suit against the Todos Santos hotel in Baja California Sur, Mexico, which had been calling itself the "Hotel California." Today we learn that the two parties have settled, and that the owners, Hotel California Baja LLC, have withdrawn their application for a U.S. trademark, a point of contention with the band.

“This case has been settled by mutual agreement of the parties,” the Eagles' lawyer, Thomas Jirgal, said, as reported by Reuters. There was no comment from the owners, John and Debbie Stewart, or their representatives.

The Todos Santos hotel, located about 1,000 miles south of San Diego, opened up as the Hotel California in 1950, but underwent several name changes before the current owners restored the name in 2001. The lawsuit alleged that, by playing Eagles songs over the PA system and selling merchandise with its name, the owners were trying to suggest that it was the inspiration for the song and/or associated with the band, which would lead to greater profits. The Eagles cited numerous online reviews that referenced the band as proof, and took exception to the owners' attempt to register the name with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.

Even though the Hotel California album's cover featured a photo of the Beverly Hills Hotel, the hotel referenced in "Hotel California" was a metaphor. “It’s basically a song about the dark underbelly of the American dream and about excess in America, which is something we knew a lot about,” Don Henley said.